Sobering Results | Lyric Angus: U of L DUI case falls apart at trial

Dec. 2, 2012

Written by

The Courier-Journal

Driving at a high rate of speed Feb. 6, 2010, University of Louisville student Lyric Angus nearly hit a police cruiser in Hardin County before she was pulled over for suspected drunken driving, according to court records.

Police found an opened bottle of vodka in her car, and she pleaded guilty to drunken driving, for which she paid a $200 fine and spent a day in jail.

Four months later, history seemed ready to repeat itself.

U of L police, after getting a tip that Angus was driving her 2010 Camaro on a suspended license, pulled her over on campus and found she was driving with another opened 1.75-liter bottle of vodka, according to court records.

Angus, then 20, smelled of alcohol, failed a field-sobriety test and admitted she’d been drinking, according to Officer Robert Cox and Lt. David James, who arrested her for drunken driving and possession of alcohol by a person under 21.

She blew a 0.189 at the Jefferson County Corrections Center, more than nine times the 0.02 permitted for drivers under 21.

Appearing before Jefferson District Judge Erica Lee Williams, Gold argued that, because U of L police blocked in Angus’ vehicle — and because Cox told her she was going to jail — she effectively was in custody and should have been given a Miranda warning before she admitted she’d been drinking and was administered the field-sobriety test.

Assistant County Attorney Mark Barry insisted that neither Kentucky law nor the U.S. Supreme Court require suspected drunken drivers to be “Mirandized” on the roadside. He said Angus was read her rights at jail, as required, before her breath test.

But Williams suppressed all evidence obtained after the stop and found her not guilty.

The county attorney’s office appealed, and Senior Judge Martin McDonald held that Williams was wrong, saying the officers were conducting a “routine traffic stop with investigatory questioning,” and no Miranda warning was required.

But McDonald ruled before hearing any oral arguments that were scheduled in the case. Judge Mary Shaw, for whom he had been sitting, vacated his order, heard arguments and affirmed Williams’ ruling for Angus.

“The law gives you certain rights,” Gold said, “and if you are denied those rights, the commonwealth cannot benefit from it” — regardless of your blood alcohol level.

Angus said in an interview that “justice was served” in her case, which she described as a “gift from God.”

She said she got help with her drinking problem and has been sober ever since. “I needed help at that point. I didn’t need another judge to put me behind bars. That was my wake-up call.”